Whenever I start with a new client, we make an STFU list.

You see, every leader has pet projects and ideas that the team hates dealing with—or thinks are more a distraction than an opportunity.

Occasionally, the boss listens and will kill the project or take the idea off the table. But often the answer is “I know, but we’re doing it anyway.”

By identifying which ideas aren’t up for discussion (the STFU list), we can map out how to work around (or in spite of) them instead of wasting time and energy trying to quash them.